Back on the Grind//Returning to USPSA

Welcome to what I intend to be a series on shooting USPSA matches. USPSA, or United States Practical Shooting Association, matches have been a huge source of enjoyment for me throughout the years, and I think you might enjoy them too. Please consider supporting the blog by perusing the store, or by “liking” and sharing this article, and perhaps subscribing. Much appreciated, enjoy!

When I was in college, I purchased my first handgun off of a friend who had recently purchased a brand-new pistol, then blew a couple tires on his car. He needed money for tires and had two pistols, and I had money and wanted a pistol. My buddy sold me his Smith & Wesson M&P40, a holster, and 300 rounds of .40 ammunition for the price of two Audi tires.

With a new-to-me pistol in hand, I spent many weekends out in the mountains of Colorado, blasting at targets and generally turning money into noise. As fun as shooting trash in mountains with my friends was (and still is), something was missing. A friend, Neil, knew exactly what was missing, and he invited me to participate in my first USPSA match.

It was not the first time I had put my marksmanship to the test. I had shot BB guns in cub scouts, gone plinking with friends, and had even gone to the National Trap Meet in Sparta, Illinois one summer. I was very familiar with competing with a firearm, but all of the tests of my marksmanship had been largely stationary. I stood in one spot, took aim, and pulled the trigger, time after time.

From that first practical pistol match, I was hooked. USPSA’s brand of practical shooting is anything but stationary. Competitors are expected to move through different stages, solving complex shooting problems. Where to start, where to aim, where to reload, where to move and how to get there all combine to create a dynamic experience that is both fun and challenging.

I shot pistol matches with Neil and other friends all around Colorado during my last two years of college. I wasn’t able to shoot very consistently, but I would estimate that I got a match in every three months or so, shooting my M&P throughout college until I graduated in 2014.

When I got to my first duty station in San Angelo, Texas, I joined a gun club and continued where I left off. I shot USPSA matches in Texas and New Mexico, exclusively shooting my M&P in matches for the rest of 2014. In 2015, I bought my Beretta M9, which became my primary competition pistol and prompted me to switch from shooting “Limited” division to shooting in “Production” division.

Unfortunately, circumstances took me places where shooting USPSA and similar matches was either impossible or completely infeasible. I was stationed in Qatar for a year, then in Monterey, California for a year and a half, then in Massachusetts for almost three years, finally I was stationed in Honolulu, Hawai’i, where I write this article now. In Qatar, keeping up with my USPSA shooting was completely out of the question. I remember looking up USPSA matches when I was stationed in Monterey, and the nearest one was almost an eight hour drive away, so that was out of the question. I moved outside of Boston in January of 2020, and of course, the great lockdown of 2020 happened just a scant three months later, and all the matches in New England were shut down.

It was not until a little more than a year ago that I was able get back into USPSA in earnest. I was pretty surprised at how many opportunities to shoot matches I would have out here in Hawai’i. Hawai’i has some strict firearms laws, and stricter laws often come with more limited opportunities for marksmanship. However, there is usually at least one public match every week, and each match usually has fifty to seventy participants. I don’t go to a match every week, as ammunition is very expensive out here, but I do my best to make it to one or two per month.

USPSA provides a way to measure your progress in its time-based scoring methods. Each stage is provided a total point value possible, and your total number of points divided by the time it took you to complete them is your score, also known as a “Hit Factor.” For instance, if you shoot a stage and earn 80 points in 20 seconds, you earned a score of 80/20= 4.00 Hit Factor. A typical match has one stage known as a “Classifier” that is set up the exact same way, no matter what match you are at. After you shoot a sanctioned classifier stage, your score is compared to the total pool of shooters nationwide. If you shoot enough classifiers, you are given a classification from “D” to “Grand Master.” As you keep shooting matches with classifiers, you can move your classification up to reflect a greater depth of experience.

In addition to solving shooting problems and providing a structured way to measure performance, USPSA matches have a great social aspect as well. Participating in matches means you get to hang out with people of all ages and from all walks of life who just want to hang out, turn money into noise, and maybe chase that “Grand Master” status if they are super serious. Most people are just there to have fun.

Every match, and I mean every match, I have ever participated in has been filled with other shooters who embrace new folks with open arms. Don’t get me wrong, as with other sports, there are a few try-hard dickheads, but they are far outnumbered by the kind, welcoming people. Often, clubs hosting USPSA matches will offer a “USPSA 101” class before a match to offer new shooters a chance to learn the rules before stepping into their first stage.

Now that I am in a location where USPSA matches are held frequently, I intend to pursue raising my classification level over the next year or so. Right now, I am at “C” class in Production Division, which is second from the bottom. While I would love to be a “Grand Master” or even a “Master” class shooter, I think that attaining that in a year might be a big stretch. We shall see, and I suppose you can follow along as I go.

Thanks for reading! If you would like to follow my USPSA progression, you can follow the Norseman Creative YouTube channel. I post most of my match footage there. If you would like to support the blog, please consider purchasing a book. If you are looking for cheap equipment to start shooting matches, I have what you need as well! I appreciate you reading to the end!